Re: 鈥淚鈥檒l never vote again. Here鈥檚 why,鈥� column, Jan. 20.
It was disheartening to read Iain Hunter鈥檚 column in the Islander, especially his assessment that, at his age, he no longer contributes anything to the 鈥渃ommon weal.鈥� Many seniors, I think, do indeed feel that they have been relegated to the sidelines, mere watchers of the flow of life. This perception often leads to feelings of isolation and depression.
But today鈥檚 millennials are tomorrow鈥檚 seniors, and although the composition changes with the passing generations, this is a group that will always be here and that has much at stake in how we are governed.
Last weekend, I was lining up outside in the cold, waiting for the opening of a walk-in medical clinic, hoping to be one of the lucky few to get a spot before it filled up for the day. In that line were folks much older than me, all without family doctors, all feeling abandoned, powerless and betrayed by the crisis in a primary-care system that was once a source of pride.
Distressed mentally and physically, they could hardly be blamed if they felt they had been cast upon the scrap heap by a society that no longer cared about them.
So, Mr. Hunter, please keep voting and holding to account those who govern us. Seniors present and future will always be a vulnerable group that has an interest in public policy at least as legitimate as any other demographic.
William E. Cochrane
Saanichton
